Wishbringer - Golden Edition
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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In this game, the player controls a postal clerk in the small fishing village of Festeron. The postmaster, Mr. Crisp, orders the player to deliver an envelope to the owner of Ye Olde Magick Shoppe. However, this seemingly innocent task inexplicably leads to a strange phenomenon: as the hero steps out, he finds that Festeron has been mysteriously transformed into a dark, ominous town called Witchville. Even cute little poodles have turned into hellhounds! Finding the Wishbringer, a stone that grants seven wishes to those who possess the right objects, seems like the only solution - or is it?

Wishbringer is a text adventure set in the Zork universe. The player types in commands to navigate the character, interact with the game world, and solve puzzles. The game has a rather open-ended structure, with many situations possessing several solutions; the player can opt for a "magical" approach to the tasks, using the titular stone, or attempt to solve the game in a more straightforward way.

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Trivia

A novelisation (perhaps better termed a cross-promotional tie-in loosely related to the original property) of the game was produced by Byron Preiss (with a grey-striped cover design emulating Infocom game packaging), published by Avon Books. It was written by Craig Shaw Gardner and first published in August of 1988. Its ISBN is 0-380-75385-5 and the rear cover blurb reads as follows:
"The field needs more humorists of this caliber." - Robert Lynn Asprin

THE RIDDLE OF THE TWIN WORLDS

Simon never wanted to meet an ogre. He never wanted to face a town full of terrors armed with an Acme Kitchen Wonder. But Simon was a con man who got caught and sentenced to deliver mail in the lovely town of Festeron.

It would have been an easy sentence if Festeron hadn't turned into the town of Witchville. Suddenly, Festeron wasn't lovely any more. The postmaster wanted to cancel him. The librarian wanted to shelve him. The Boot Patrol wanted to kick him, and Gloria, sweet Gloria, the girl of his dreams, was dating the entire patrol.

Armed with a magic radio and a kitchen appliance, Simon must face ogres, grues, wraiths, and one really mean librarian to turn Witchville back into Festeron again.

Wishbringer's box and content were already finished before Brian Moriarty even started programming.

Infocom had bought 50.000 plastic pebbles as gimmicks, but since the Wishbringer stone was supposed to me magical, it had to be colored. They found a contractor that was ready to supply pink glow-in-the-dark paint, but just as they came to terms, Infocom realized that the paint would be hazardous to children. They cancelled the deal, called around once more and found another company that sold a similar but safe paint.

Source: Happy Computer magazine #8/86

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The interesting thing about the Wishstone that separated it from other glow in the dark goodies of the day is that it actually glows purple - quite unusual! (and, as a side note, I still have mine and 15+ years later, it still glows perfectly)

A small number of grey-box releases of this game were sold without the plastic glow-in-the-dark stone, and without it being mentioned in the contents list on the back (I have one myself). These were most likely a very late release of the game, right before Activision took over. Reissuing the box must have been cheaper than manufacturing more of the plastic toys once the original supply ran out.
Contributed by Ye Olde Infocomme Shoppe (1526) on 08.04.2001. -- edit trivia

In my experience, this is one of the most (if not the most) early game to use documentation as a way of confirming that you had the original. Those of you who owned games in the late 80s and early 90s know what I mean. It consisted of this: in one point in the game, you find a letter that you can't read onscreen; the game mentions that it is included with the original package. Although the game didn't seem to formally use this letter as copy protection, you missed an important part of the game.
Contributed by Olivier Masse (421) on 13.12.1999. -- edit trivia

Wishbringer came with a "wishstone", a white stone with a pale, almost indiscernably green cast to it. It glowed in the dark, too.

(It was obviously made of glow-in-the-dark plastic, but still cool.)

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Description from the packaging:

Interactive Fiction
Fantasy
Introductory Level

Through strange, savage zones your way will be shown by the magical stone called Wishbringer.
It's an ordinary day in your ordinary little town, and you've been performing your ordinary mail clerk's duties in an altogether ordinary way. But there's something quite extraordinary in today's mail. It's a ransom note for a kidnapped cat, and it will lead your through unbelievably harrowing adventures to Wishbringer, a stone possessing undreamt-of powers. For though the note in question is addressed to someone in your ordinary little town, it's postmarked for Special Delivery to Parts Unknown. And its true destination is somewhere beyond your wildest dreams, c/o the magic of Infocom's interactive fiction.
Get inside a story.

Get one from Infocom!
It's like waking up inside a story! Load Infocom's interactive fiction into your computer and discover yourself at the center of a world jam-packed with surprising twists, unique characters and original. Logical, often hilarious puzzles.

For the first time, you're more than a passive reader. You can talk to the story, typing in full English sentences. And the story talks right back, communicating entirely in vividly description prose. What's more, you can actually shape the story's course of events through your choice of actions. And you have hundreds of alternatives at every step. In fact, there's so much you can see and do, your adventure can last weeks and even months.

To find the Infocom interactive story that's right for you, just choose any one marked with the level of difficulty listed below that best matches your current level of interactive skill.

Junior: Best introduction to interactive fiction. Written for everyone from age 9 up.

Standard: Good introductory level for adults. This is Infocom's most popular level of interactive fiction.
Advanced: A greater level of challenge. Recommended for those who've already experienced Infocom's interactive fiction.

Expert: For real diehards seeking the ultimate challenge in interactive fiction.
Then find our what it's like to get inside a story. Get one from Infocom. Because with Infocom's interactive fiction, there's room for you on every disk.



http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/wishbringer
